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Episode details

Radio 4,05 Nov 2022,57 mins

SeriesOur Archive Century

Science

Archive on 4

Available for over a year

The second programme in the series celebrating the riches of the BBC's written, audio and audio-visual archives. In this episode the subject area is science and two of Britain's leading figures in the field, Robert Winston, Baron Winston and the Space scientist and broadcaster Maggie Aderin-Pocock select archival material that shows the changing relationship between science, the national broadcaster and the public. The fears of talking down, of over-simplifying, of bewildering and boring the listener and viewer have been with us since the earliest years. The presenters discuss how broadcasters have sought to square that circle, how the attitude to science and scientists has changed over the century and why the constant striving to make scientific endeavour available to the broadest possible audience remains so important. Expect to hear archive from the Space Race, from wonderfully patrician pre-war lectures and triumph of Science at Glastonbury. Producer: Tom Alban

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